May we celebrate Polish Constitution Day, 1791

Poland’s 3rd of May Constitution Day – A Celebration of Democracy and National Identity!

On Wednesday, 30 April, the Polish Embassy in Wellington hosted a National Day reception at the New Zealand Parliament to celebrate 234 years of Poland’s Constitution of 3 May 1791, the first modern written constitution in Europe and the second in the world, after the Constitution of 1789.

In his speech, Head of Mission Patryk Błaszczak outlined the historical context in which the Constitution of 3 May 1791 was adopted and contrasted that turbulent time in Poland’s history with the country’s standing today resulting from hard work, robust growth, strong alliances and good governance.

He also spoke about Poland’s close and friendly ties with New Zealand: “We may be separated by 18000 kilometres, but our relations are based on the strong foundation of common values and on a shared belief that the international order should be based on the force of law, and not on the law of force”.

In this context, Mr Błaszczak outlined the main priorities of the Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union focusing on security in all its dimensions, and reaffirmed Poland’s commitment to supporting Ukraine politically, economically and militarily “not only because we believe it to be right, but also because we know that peace with Russia is only possible through strength”.